


On The Beach

by Khylara



Category: CSI: Miami
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:33:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22519303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khylara/pseuds/Khylara
Summary: Horatio help Tim get through a painful anniversary.
Relationships: Horatio Caine/Tim Speedle
Kudos: 4





	On The Beach

It was late when Horatio finally got home from the lab; the full moon had already risen over the waves gently crashing against the sands not too far from hs back door. He sighed as he leaned back in his seat for a moment; he was bone tired after a day of blood and paperwork. A part of him was looking forward to nothing more than a bottle of beer and a mindless movie in front of the TV.

He then noiced the bright yellow Ducati motorcycle parked on his porch and smiled. _He said he had off today,_ he thought as he got out of the Hummer. _He was going to make his mother's Irish stew recipe._ His step quickened as he remembered the suggestive phone call he had recieved at lunch; Speed had made it very clear to Horatio not to bee too late, or his dessert would be sleeping on the couch tonight.

 _And I definitely can't have that. I have something entirely different in mind,_ Horatio thought as he unlocked the door. In spite of the too short time the two of them had been together, he had gotten far too used to falling asleep with Speed in his arms.

"Speed?" he called as he walked into the dark living room, hanging up his suit jacket on the coat rack by the door. "I'm home!"

There was no answer.

 _Where could he be?_ he wondered as he wandered into the kitchen, following the delicious smell of something cooking. On the counter a crock pot was gently bubbling and there was a fresh loaf of homemade soda bread next to it, but Speed was nowhere to be found. "Speed?"

He glanced at the calendar on the wall just then, finally realizing what the date was and remembering it's significance to Speed. _Oh, honey...no wonder you took off today,_ he thought as he headed for the back door.

He knew all too well where his lover was.

Walking onto the beach, he headed straight for the dunes and the lone figure huddled there. He silently sat down next to him and waited.

"I forgot," Speed finally said, choking on the words. There were tears streaking his moonlit cheeks. "How could I forget, when I loved him so much?"

"It's been a long time, honey," Horatio said softly. "And you've been happy. Would he begrudge you that - you being happy?"

After a moment, Speed shook his head. "No," he said. "He said so the day before his surgery...that if something happened to him, I should go on and live the life he couldn't." He swiped at his eyes. "I promised him I would."

"And you have," Horatio reminded him. "You have a job you're good at, where you help people. You have friends who care about you." Reaching over, he took Speed's hand in his. "You have someone who loves you very much."

Speed let out a long, shuddering sigh. "I'm sorry, H," he said, his voice soft and sad. "I shouldn't be unloading all this on you."

"You can. I want you to," Horatio countered, his voice just as quiet. "I want you to be able to ask for whatever you need."

"Not after the day you had," Speed protested. "I heard about it from Delko."

"Even then," Horatio squeezed his fingers. "I love you, honey. I want to help however I can."

Speed leaned against Horatio's blue silk shoulder. "I just can't believe that I forgot him today of all days," he said, closing is eyes. "You know what made me remember? I was making dinner for you when I remembered that my Irish stew had been Andrew's favorite." He sniffed, fighting back more tears. "I barely managed to get the bread out of the oven before breaking down in the middle of the kitchen."

Horatio slowly slid his arm around Speed's shaking shoulders. "You should have called me, honey," he admonished gently. "I would hve come home earlier."

"I knew you had stuff to finish. And you have enough to deal with without adding in my drama," Speed said, sniffling again. "And I wanted to calm down a little before you got home." He huffed a sigh. "That worked out really well."

"You're allowed to mourn someone you love, honey. It doesn't matter how long they've been gone," Horatio reminded him. "I miss my mother every day and it's been over thirty five years."

Speed was silent for a long moment before siging again. "I'm being an idiot, aren't I?"

"Never that," Horatio said as he squeezed his shoulder. "You loved Andrew. He was an important part of your life. That's a rare and precious thing, that strong a love. Nothing idiotic about it."

"But maybe I need to start appreciating what I have instead of thinking about what I lost," Speed mused as he wiped away the reminder of his tears with the back of his hand. He looked up and gave Horatio a faint smile. "Thanks."

Horatio smiled as well. "No need to," he said as he got to his feet and brushed off the sand. He helped Speed to his before taking the younger man back into his arms. "Better?"

"A little." Speed leaned into his lover's embrace. "And this helps more than you know." He looked up, meeting Horatio's blue eyes with his own dark ones. "I love you."

"I love you, too, honey." They shared a kiss.


End file.
